R.E.M. officially broke up in 2011 and since then, Michael Stipe hasn’t created any new music. Until now.
Stipe has recently revealed that’s he’s writing for the first time since the split and has a bunch of new tracks lined up.
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has revealed his first solo project since R.E.M’s split in 2011, includes 18 brand new songs “already ready”.
In an interview with Italian magazine La Repubblica, he confessed, “18 songs are already ready. For five years I’d had a clean break from music. Now I’m writing, composing and recording all by myself and for the first time.”
Last year he released single Future, if Future, however there was no confirmation that a full-length solo album was on the horizon until EarthFest 2019. Teasers of the new material were debuted during his surprise opening set for Patti Smith, where he debuted two new songs, Your Capricious Soul and Drive to the Ocean. There is speculation that Smith will be involved in the potential new record, given they’ve been performing and collaborating with each other since the ’90s.
There has still has been no formal announcement that he will be releasing an album, however this solo project is definitely looking promising.
Besides writing new music, Stipe has been focusing on his photography after the successful release of his book Michael Stipe:Volume 1 in 2018, which includes photographs of River Phoenix and Kurt Cobain. Additionally, R.E.M. has finally released In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 on vinyl for the first time in 15 years.
